Taking care of a mound

Mounds need to be watered like every other garden bed. By starting to water at the top, you will not waste water. Do not water hastily, that is, with too much water pressure, to avoid erosion or seeds being washed away. Planting on terrasses and mounding the soil around the stem of your growing plants will ensure that the water you add to the soil will reach the roots of your plants.

Adding organic material to the soil, pulling weeds and loosening up the soil periodically will help your plants to grow well too, of course. Once your top plant grows high enough, make sure to stake it well.

Despite well planned companion planting, you might still encounter bugs and critter problems along the way. If the summer is a wet summer, you might have to deal with slugs, for example. An easy and organic way of dealing with slugs is to edge your mound with crushed eggshell. Slugs cannot crawl over the sharp edges of crushed eggshell without hurting themselves, so they stay away from your mound. In contrast to an ordinary garden bed though, you have a much easier time with the eggshell since, if you protect the outer circle well, slugs will leave your whole mound in peace. Besides, the white rim around the mound adds beauty to your mound. Just make sure that you have enough crushed eggshell to renew the layer frequently, that is, at the latest after every rain.

Simple Living at Joshuah's House

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Soil Quality

If you are unsure about the quality of your soil, use a soil tester kit to test the pH level and take proper steps if your soil is too acidic or too alcaline. Once you have done that and deep spaded one more time, make sure that you do not step on the soil anymore, or, if you have dug a big mound, that you only step on the stepping stones or areas. Compacted soil stunts growth and is easy to avoid.

If you want to keep your soil nourishing to your plants, add organic material to your mound as you go just like you would do to any other vegetable bed. Grass clippings, for example, keep the soil from drying out and prevent excessive weed growth.

It is also a good idea to pull weeds as they appear, as they compete with your vegetable for the nutrients in the soil. A good rule of the thumb is to pull weeds after every rain, as they are easy to pull from the wet soil and won't take the fresh nourishment from your vegetables.

Simple Living at Joshuah's House

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